The present invention relates to a carrier holder or hook device which is adapted to support relatively light articles, such as outdoor use computers, measuring instruments, control units, photographic equipment and the like, in front of the body of the person using it, said hook comprising a front portion which extends in the longitudinal direction of the body from the belly upwards over the chest of the person, is adapted to secure the articles to be carried and, adjacent the neck and above the chest, is integral with a rear portion curving up over the shoulder and continuing downwards behind the head.
The object of the present invention is to provide a carrier hook of such a design that relatively light articles can at the front of the body be carried in a simple and flexible way. Thanks to the anatomic configuration of the hook the carrying function will exhibit very good ergonomy but also good stability without stabilizing belts. The arrangements today available on the market and used for the same function are constituted by belts, harnesses or waistcoats and also by hook devices supported by the neck portion of the carrying person. The disadvantage of these hook equipments is that the weight of the articles which are to be carried with the aid of the hook produce pain in the neck portion. It has further been found that in the use of those prior art solutions it is difficult to reach an exact positioning of the articles carried at the front of the person. In addition thereto it is difficult to mount them.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to eliminate the disadvantages characterizing the prior art carrier arrangements with the aid of a carrier hook of the type mentioned above. It should in an excellent manner fullfill its purposes and at the same time be cheap and simple to manufacture. The features characterizing the invention are set out in the subsequent patent claims.
Thanks to the invention there has now been provided a carrier hook which can easily be put on and taken off and which, due to its shape matching the shape of the body, makes the major portion of the weight of the articles in contact with the chest or with the belly will be absorbed by the shoulder blades. This avoids loading of the soft parts of the body which are significantly more sensitive to load. With the aid of a flexible and/or articulated, anatomically shaped shoulder plate the weight can be equally distributed to both the shoulder blades irrespective of the body configuration of the carrying person. Further, the mounting of the shoulder plate at the hook can be made adjustable whereby the carrier hook can be better matched for use also by extremely big individuals. Thanks to this anatomic shape of the hook it can conveniently be used also by women. The length of the hook can be adjusted with the aid of a slide rail in order to match the hook to different back lengths. The torsional strength of the hook can be increased by providing it with longitudinal and transversal projections in its longitudinal direction.
The article to be carried can be secured to the front, lower portion of the hook either directly or via a belly plate in some convenient manner, e.g. with the aid of catches, buckles, ball joints etc. The article can be placed in an optimized position between an adjustable ball joint and a carrier arm so that an ergonomic working position is attained. Maximum comfort and increased friction against the body parts in contact with the plates can be established by covering the plates with a woven material, felt, rubber, foam plastic or any other suitable material.
Preferably, the carrier hook is manufactured in vacuum shaped or injection moulded plastic, alternatively in pressed aluminium or steel sheet. During the injection moulding in different plastic materials it can also be provided with transverse ribs, made flexible in the deep direction, to attain maximum matching to different anatomic body shapes.